They said that revenge is a dish best served cold, and Gael would agree that was true most of the time. But that wasn't the case with J's killer. Avenging his death should be taken care of right away. Gael wanted to serve the fucking dish straight out of the boiling pot of rage that had been bubbling inside him ever since he saw the light going out of J's eyes.

There was no time like now.

Gael didn't want to only stab Bruno like he did to J; he needed to carve his eyes out, scrape every piece of flesh in the fucker's body until he runs out of skin to cut while J's blood was still on his hands. He hadn't washed and changed clothes yet.

And that's what he did—sort of.

At least that's what he planned to do.

But halfway through the process, Gael fell indifferent to the act. Bruno screamed like a pussy as he slowly bled, and at first, it was satisfying to hear that the man was in pain. J was in so much pain before he died. Bruno had to receive ten times more than that before Gael would be appeased.

The soldiers made no sound as they crowded the room, watching the captive suffer under Gael's retribution. They wished they could join in too.

As Gael stepped back and watched the disfigured man hanging off the chain, he wondered how much more he'd have to do this to satisfy himself. Bruno was unrecognizable, but he was still breathing—barely. Gael made sure of it. But even after inflicting irrevocable damage to Bruno, he was still unsatisfied. He realized nothing could ever be enough to fill the hole that developed inside his chest when Jino died.

He let out a dismissive sigh, tossed the bloodied knife on the ground, and glanced at Trigger who had been seething on the side the whole time. "Finish him off," said Gael.

"Gladly." Trigger picked up the knife and twirled it skillfully in his hand as he strolled towards the wheezing man. In one strike and without hesitation, he plunged the knife straight into Bruno's neck and twisted the blade harshly for good measure.

Jino was Trigger's best friend. They were the closest among the soldiers. His pain was just as much as Gael's.

Gael felt no better than when he started. The only consolation he got was that Bruno didn't get to live another day.

Giovanni handed him a wet hand towel that he used to wipe the blood off his hands, though it only did a little to clean off the mess. He ordered his men to get rid of the bodies—Bruno's and the other man with him—in the ocean where sharks could enjoy as a snack.

Gael showered and got dressed in the Bunk's suite room, having already forgotten about the mayhem down at the basement. He dismissed the memory of Bruno but never about how J died, having lots of "I should'ves" that no longer mattered because he wouldn't be able to bring him back.

While he stared at his reflection in the mirror, someone knocked on the open door.

"You okay?" Giovanni held up a black suit jacket and helped the other put it on.

"I need to arrange his funeral," said Gael as he fixed and tidied himself in front of the mirror, his beard neatly trimmed and his hair combed back.

"You haven't even gone to the hospital yet." Giovanni wasn't talking about Mika. He meant going to the morgue to see J where his corpse was brought, along with the other bodies.

"I don't need to see what I've already seen."

"Why don't you take some time off?" Giovanni offered, not taking the other's stern responses personally.

Gael turned around and headed out of the room, his uncle following him behind. "I don't need some time off. I need to keep moving. I'm not done with the Morellis yet."

"That can wait."

"No, it can't."

A heavy hand grabbed Gael by the shoulder to stop him, and Giovanni looked at him straight in the eyes. "You need time to grieve, Gael. You just lost Jino."

This pissed him off. He was awfully aware of that fact already. "This is my way of grieving," he seethed.

"What about Mika and Gabby, hm? They need you now more than ever."

Gael knew he had to face the two. It was inevitable. As much as he wanted to hunt down every last Morelli on earth, Giovanni was right. The two girls who were the closest to J needed him right now. And maybe he needed them too. In the end, he went to the hospital with Giovanni.

It was Gabby whom he saw first. His sister clung to her mother, crying her heart out in the waiting room. It broke his heart to see her like this, knowing that she probably loved J just like he loved her. When she saw him enter the room, she ran to him, and he caught her in his arms when she nearly tripped.

Gabriella cried harder against his chest. "He's dead… I was just with him yesterday, and now he's gone. I can't see him anymore."

It killed him inside. "I'm so…sorry," he whispered above her as he tightened his embrace. "I would do anything to bring him back if I could."

Even though Gabby didn't say she blamed him for what happened, Gael could feel that he had let her down. And that hurt even more.

Mika was no different when he went to visit her in her room. It was already eight in the evening, and she was all alone, sitting on the bed in the dark because she didn't want anyone inside.

When Gael walked into the room, she murmured without lifting her head, "Go away. Leave me alone."

"Mika…"

She looked up and met his regret-filled eyes. Mika looked a little surprised and also slightly relieved to see him there. Then her chin and lips began to tremble.

He sat facing her on the bed, and before he could even say anything else, she broke down in a heartbreaking cry.

"It's all my fault."

"Sweetheart, it's not your fault."

"But it is." She sobbed on his shoulder. "I shouldn't have asked him to come back home. I should have listened to you that it wasn't safe for him here. I shouldn't have begged you. If I wasn't so selfish and just waited, he wouldn't have died."

Gael thought hearing Mika blame herself for her brother's death was one of the worst feelings ever. He expected and would have accepted that she and Gabby would blame him because J was his responsibility. He was ready for it, not this. It was as if he was stabbed in the gut.

He wiped the tears off her cheek and told her, "It was his decision to come back and stay. It's not your fault. Jino loves you… You know that. He'd be sad if he saw you blaming yourself like this. You don't want that, do you?"

She shook her head, but tears didn't stop flowing out of her eyes. Gael could tell the girl over and over to reassure her of it. And by the hundredth time, maybe he'd start believing the words himself—that it wasn't his fault too, even though every part of him believed the contrary.

It was an hour later when Alessandro and Fabiano came to the hospital. Most of the guards were sent off to do their respective tasks and the ones left outside Mika's hospital room were Giovanni, Gael, and Gabriella who excused herself a while ago to get some coffee. Gabriella's mother went home not too long ago.

"Son." Alessandro placed a warm hand on Gael's shoulder and squeezed. "I'm sorry for your loss."

He looked at his father, noticing the exhaustion on his face. Alessandro looked as worn out as Gael was. At first, Gael blamed his father and loathed the plan. They miscalculated, and he was sure his father was also burning in regret for being unable to prevent the loss. J wasn't the only one who died. The soldier who got shot while he guarded the apartment had been in the family for several years. But he couldn't hate his father. He just hated the cruelty of their life.

Gael nodded, and his father sat next to him, handing over a folder that contained the official memo from the council, revoking the original order of marrying the two warring families.

It worked. Gael and Gabriella were now free from the vicious chain that tied them with the Morellis for months. He stared at the paper and the signatures of the council members, scoffing at the brutality of the whole situation. Gael merely skimmed, his mind going elsewhere. The plan worked, but at the expense of J's life.

"Where's your sister?" Alessandro asked, scanning the hallway from left to right.

Gael narrowed his eyes, looking in the direction of the elevator where Gabby disappeared half an hour ago. She should've come back already. Wanting to get some fresh air, he figured he'd go look for her on his way out. Getting out of the marriage order would hopefully make her feel better—though Gael doubted it.. "I'll go find her."